The war in Vietnam

Vietnam activities

• Assessment: Vietnam war team work presentations (scroll down to bottom of page)
• Informal Assessment: Explain the Vietnam war to someone who is at least 10 years older than you, but preferably someone who was around when the war happened.
• Homework + activities: see textbook and the wiki

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Why was US defeated? + Results of the Vietnam war

Task 1:
Read page 290 - 297.
Answer questions 297 if not already done...

Task 2: Create a mindmap diagram which contains reasons for american defeat. Use your book (page 294) and this site for ideas: http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/vietnam/usdefeat.htm

Task 3:
Download the following handouts, make one new document out of it and answer all the questions on the sheets, including those really easy questions....

• america_involved.doc
  

  

• lost_vietnam.doc

Task 4: Create another mindmap/diagram outlining the results of the Vietnam war. (Page 296)

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Tasks 2

Task 1:
Complete a Source Analysis task (will be handed out).

Task 2:
Read this online document USgetinvolved_worksheet.pdf and work with someone next to you to formulate an answer to the question: "why did America become involved in the Vietnam war", write your answer in your workbook.

Task 3:
In a group of two, create your own timeline of the Vietnam war. You can do it online or on paper.
Here are some online timeline tools, for most you'll have to create an account.

• http://www.timerime.com/en/timeline/ Make sure you add images.
• http://www.xtimeline.com/index.aspx
• http://www.timetoast.com/
• http://www.dipity.com/

Your timeline should explain / include events like these:

• French Colonialism
• Japanese surrender in 1945
• Chinese Communist Revolution 1949
• JFK assassinated, LBJ takes over.
• American involvement
• Ho Chi Min
• Tet Offensive
• Diem
• Domino Theory
• Gulf of Tonkin incident
• French desire for colonial empire

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Intro Video

The Vietnam War; let's start in the present. In class we will watch a 20 minute documentary, made by an American-Vietnamese journalist who goes back to his father's country:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/watch/player.html?pkg=203_vietnam&seg=1&mod=0

• How does the history of the Vietnam War as taught to Vietnamese students compare with what we study it?
• Who decides how history is taught in a particular country?
• Based on the video, how is Vietnam healing from the war?

Another fabulous song by the great History buff Billy Joel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpRuKyksxks

Download the notes from the Vietnam War PPT:

Vietnam, useful links:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/vietnam.html
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/britishworld/vietnam.html
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/vietnamwar

Games, test your knowledge

Fun game #1: penaltyshootout/dividedunion.html
Fun game #2: penaltyshootout/vietnam.htm
Quiz: http://www.quia.com/rr/110872.html

The Vietnam War, Assessment Task

You are to investigate an area of The Vietnam War that interests you and create a (Power Point) Presentation + a handout of notes / activities to help your classmates understand the topic.
Your presentation should:

• Be approximately 15 minutes in length.
• Allow 5 minutes to provide additional explanation and answer questions from fellow students. (20 minutes in total)
• Contain visual information; you should orally present your information, not via slabs of text on the powerpoint.
• Contain evidence of research using a variety of sources.
• Be accompanied by a handout to help your fellow students understand your topic.

As part of your assessment, you are required to create a one page (1 A4, printed, single sided) summary of notes on your topic. This must be given to the class at the beginning of your presentation. This handout should contain a clear overview of your topic for your fellow students. You are the teacher! You can also hand out puzzles, worksheets, note taking guides, quizes, photos, diagrams etc, anything to help your fellow students understand the topic.
A BIBLIOGRAPHY must appear on the back of your summary page.

Some areas of interest may include:
Peace movements and protests
Use of napalm
Tet Offensive
Life for civilians
The media
Vietcong
The tunnel systems
Guerilla warfare
Mai Lai massacre
A soldier’s story
Journalists on the ground
Fighting in the jungle
Medivacs
Weapons of Vietnam
Agent Orange
Vietnam vets
Spotting the enemy
American withdrawal from Vietnam
Colonialism in Vietnam
Returning home
The girl in the picture (Phan Thị Kim Phúc)
Famous images from Vietnam

CRITERIA

• Productive use of class time
• Demonstration of the ability to employ a wide range of resources
• Development of an appropriate visual display / power point
• Voice projection, body language
• Summary sheet / worksheets / activities, and bibliography
• Quality / comprehensiveness of summary sheet and or worksheets / activities
• Use of a wide range of resources and sources.

Read this page for tips on creating succesful PPT presentations. The page also contains links to other ways of presenting your information. Feel free to experiment.

Will somebody please create some games? http://classtools.net/education-games-php/quiz/